Creaks and Freaks
by avidreader1696
Summary: She was human. He knew it was wrong, he knew what the world thought of him. But he couldn't help himself. Ch 14 is up! Hiatus is temporarily over!
1. Chapter 1

My house has always had that 'spooky charm', as my friends used to call it. They said it was the only reason I had bought it. It had antique chandeliers, authentic cobwebs and what I liked to call growing pains. Those were the noises that my friends couldn't find reasons for. They didn't bother me; if it wasn't someone or something coming after me or something breaking, it didn't bother me. I thought it was natural for a house as old as mine to have so many memories and mysteries that it had to release something every now and then. All the old ivy and rickety stairs made my friends uneasy, yet I loved it. Needless to say we hung out more often in town than my house.

Today had been one of those days, we did a little window shopping, had some lunch and Lea and Annie went home. I spent some time at the library and then came back to my charming little abode. There were rumors around town that I was eccentric and gothic. I really wasn't but at least it gave people something to do. I walked in the kitchen and laid my stuff on the counter. The afternoon sun filtered in through the window but the adjacent hallway was dark and there was a lump on the floor. I flicked the lightswitch and nothing happened. _Sigh. _My power went out a lot. It was probably just my cats all curled up on the floor. I turned my back and went to go get some milk before it spoiled.

I heard shuffling out in the hallway. "Girls want some milk?" I called out to my cats. No sound of little paws on the hardwood floor. Odd. At least Shasta would take me up on my offer. I heard more shuffling. I stuck my head out into the hallway. "Girls?" The lump had shifted. It was bigger than I thought – bigger than my cats. I had a brief moment of panic. Was it a wild animal that had snuck in?

The lump shuffled some more before it became still again. I was still frozen, half in the kitchen and half in the hall. There was a good chance if I made lots of racket and opened a door it would leave. I slipped back into the kitchen and through the sitting room to the far end of the hallway. I opened the back door and grabbed the broom. I opened my mouth to start yelling when the lump shuffled some more. My voice died in my throat.

The lump groaned. It sounded like a man. Holding the broom out in front of me, I creeped closer. How in the hell did this guy get in my house? I had locked my doors and I hadn't noticed any broken windows. Was he homeless and just curled up on the floor? I really wish my power would come back on so at least I could see.

The man moaned and I could see he was trying to get up. He was struggling and his arms gave out. He panted and gave a little whine. He sounded like he was in pain. I lowered my broom. Maybe he was just looking for some help? I got my phone out just in case I needed to call someone.

The man kept trying to get up. I walked a little closer, wanting to help but still cautious. He didn't seem to notice me at all. He was on his hands and knees, panting. Where he was laying looked wet and I could see something dripping from his jacket. I walked a little closer. It was a sunny day and it had been a while since we had rain. The sun had moved and bounced off the wall. I caught a glimmer of red.

"Is that blood?" I asked, unable to hold myself back. I rushed over and knelt down beside him. He didn't look at me but his panting slowed.

"Get. Away. From. Me," he wheezed out. What? He was in _my _house bleeding all over _my_ floor and he wanted me to leave him alone?

"No." Lea always said I never had much sense. I started calling Annie, she would get here much faster than any ambulance and she was a nurse.

The man started _growling_! "I said _go away!"_ he shouted. Annie picked up.

"Ann get over here quick-" Faster than I thought an injured man could move, he reached out, grabbed my phone, and gave it a quick squeeze and broke it. Shattered glass rained on the floor. I let out a small shriek.

"I said…" he panted some more. "Leave me alone." He turned to look at me. In the dusky haze I made out startling blue eyes and a face full of scars.

"And I said _no._" Usually I wasn't this persistant. I avoided confrontations. But he needed help. I started grabbing his shoulders to lift him up and he started growling again. Was he a wild man who had spent too much time with animals? The stupid idiot locked his arms and started resisting me.

"Look, I don't know who you are or what the hell you're doing in my house, but you're hurt and I'm going to help you. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice." I looked at him until he answered my gaze. He sighed and loosened his arms.

We made it to our feet and I made him lean on me. He was tall, much taller than me, and heavy. I buckled my knees to keep from falling underneath him. Something told me that if he went down again, he wouldn't be getting back up. We tottered back into the kitchen and he fell into a chair. In the light, I could see his red shirt was a deeper shade of red and wet. I went to unbutton it and he grabbed my hand.

"Don't."

"You need to get this bandaged!"

"I need blood," he whispered, so quietly I almost didn't hear it.

"What?"

"Blood," he repeated louder. "I need blood."

"The nearest hospital is an hour away, if we patch you up we could probably hold off on a transfusion-"

"No." He looked at me and I knew what he meant. My fingers left his shirt and I took a step back. Hunger shone in his eyes. I licked my lips and swallowed. Was he going to attack me? Could I outrun this wounded man?

He sighed and broke eye contact as if he could read my mind. "No I'm not going to attack you." He clenched his fist and banged it on the counter. I jumped.

"Please." He looked at me again. Instead of hunger there was sadness. He was going to die if he didn't get blood, and not a transfusion.

I liked reading fantasy books. But that's all they were – fantasy books. There was no truth in them. I didn't think for one second that he was something supernatural side. So that left the psychotic side. Right?

Against my better judgement I raised my hand and offered him my wrist. Slowly, almost reverently, he took my arm gently and pulled me closer. My heart was racing and adrenaline was raging full force. He caught my gaze and I couldn't look away. He brought my wrist up to his face and breathed in, closing his eyes. Fear was almost getting the better of me. He opened his eyes again and brought his thumb to my skin. He pushed down and broke the skin. I didn't feel anything. Blood swelled on my skin and he put his thumb over it. He locked eyes with me again. He brought my wrist closer to his face. My breathing hitched and I was on the verge of panting. Reason was screaming at me to run fast and far but his eyes whispered stay. He brought my wrist to his lips, closed his eyes and drank.

My anticipation broke. I expected pain. I didn't expect a warm feeling. He hummed his contentment while he drank. I closed my eyes and let my head tip back. It was the same warmth that a hot shower gives. I could feel his lips on my skin and they were rough. I don't know how long we stayed like that but eventually the warm feeling left me and I started getting cold. Panic started rushing back on me but now I was too weak to do anything about it. He gripped my wrist tight now and was gulping down my blood. If he didn't stop soon…

He threw me away with a cry. I fell against the wall and lay on the floor. It was cold and the ceiling was starting to look fuzzy. I could still feel my wrist leaking. I tried to see what he was doing, I tried to get up to get away, but I stayed where I was. Over the buzz in my ears I could distantly hear him sighing in relief and resignation. His face came back into view and everything fazed out. Curly orange hair framed a scarred and weathered face. Underneath there was still a trace of handsomeness and those blue eyes glistened with sorrow. He picked me up like I was nothing and sat me in the stool where he had slumped. He lifted my wrist to his lips and kissed it, the cut healing before my eyes.

"I am sorry." I tried to tell him we still needed to get him bandaged and that he shouldn't be standing, but he seemed strong. He stood without wavering while I leaned over the counter and tried to stutter out words. "Shh. Let me help you." I blinked and he was handing me a glass of water. Where had that come from? He held me up with one hand and helped me hold the glass with the other. I felt a little better.

"_Emmaline! Em are you in here_?" I could hear Annie busting through the front door yelling at the top of her lungs.

I tried to tell her where I was but the man beat me to it. "She's in here!" he called out. I could hear her pounding down the hall.

"What – What happened?" She rushed over to me and took over holding me up. She started talking all sorts of nurse jumbo and running around to get the first aid kit, completely ignoring the man dressed in all red.

"Well then I'll just be going…" he turned to walk out.

"Wait!" I tried to call out to him. Both he and Annie stopped in their tracks. He hesitated and turned around to meet my eyes. There seemed to be static in the air, maybe we would have a storm later. Then Annie broke the trance.

"Who the hell are you?" She still stood by the fridge, kit in hand.

"Larten Crepsley, at your service,"he said with a bow.

"Well," Annie said, rolling with it. "You can start by telling me what happened."

"Your friend was very gallant. I was doubled over on the ground and she stopped to help me. When I leaned up, she thought I was covered in blood and fainted. It was merely stage blood and I carried her inside and started tending to her, a job you can do better than me."

I started to protest and pointed weakly at his shirt. Annie got the hint.

"That doesn't look like stage blood to me."

"Well," he said working on the buttons of his shirt, "I am not in the habit of undressing in front of ladies but to rest your fears," he opened his shirt to reveal his toned torso, covered in scars, but not a single open wound. No blood, no weeping cut, not protruding insides, just muscled scarred skin. I didn't mean to, but I stared.

Was it a rouse? Was really pretending to be hurt? I could have sworn on my life that he was in inches of losing his own. His pain was so genuine and he seemed so weak. But now staring at the strong man in front of me, it was hard to say.

Annie seemed confused. She sent me a glance, she didn't believe him.

"Thank you for your concern, ma'am, but I am afraid I have to take my leave. The show waits for no one." He turned and this time, my weak voice did not stop him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Annie, I swear that is what happened!"

"Em, you passed out, you were pale and cold. It could have been your mind misunderstanding what happened and substituting it for something you were more familiar with – stories like all those books you read."

"Ann, for the last time, I know what I saw!" We sat in the living room, sharing hot chocolate. I told her what really happened and naturally she didn't believe me. I wouldn't have believed me if I hadn't been there.

"Still, I don't think you should be alone tonight. Where's your phone, I'll call Lea."

"He crushed it," I mumbled into my cup.

"What?"

I cleared my throat. "I said he crushed it." I had forgotten to mention that part to her. She stared at me.

"What? I'm sorry I thought you said he crushed it."

"Yep. Its in a pile by the kitchen." She set her chocolate on the table and got up to look. She came back with a crumpled up piece of metal and glass. She sat back on the couch and looked at me.

"Maybe we should call the cops," she suggested.

"Just call Lea."

Lea and Annie spent the next couple nights with me just to make sure Larten Crepsley didn't come back. Lea believed me just about as much as Annie did. They even got me an alarm system, one that I didn't bother arming. Something told me that alarm systems wouldn't stop him. Lea let me borrow an old phone of hers while I saved up for a new one.

My days were normal. Get up, go to work, hang out with the girls, go to sleep, repeat. I loved the ordinary, the scheduled, the routine. It gave me reason to get up in the morning and reason to get to bed at a reasonable time. But lately, I've been lingering in dreams and staying up late.

Other than the broken phone, a bloody rug, and a tiny scar, I had no proof that Larten Crepsley had ever crossed paths with me. I didn't like that. I mean, how many times does a girl gets her blood sucked and then never hears from the guy again? Or have I officially lost my mine completely?

My thoughts lingered over the red-clad man. I went to the library and started researching. My research bordered on obsession. When I wasn't at work, I was looking for proof this man had a life outside of our encounter that he wasn't just a figment of my imagination. I had to know he wasn't my loneliness manifesting itself into my life.

Annie and Lea were so concerned. They were worried that something serious was happening to me and urged me to see a doctor. What was a doctor going to tell me? That I was perfectly fine, if a bit off in the head?

But then Lea compared me to Bella in Twilight and that snapped me out of my revere. I personally liked the Twilight series but everyone thought Bella was so idiotic. Was that how other people had started to see me? I made myself listen to reason and threw myself back into the normalness of everyday life. I did my best to convince myself and my friends that the man in red had just been a figment of my imagination and nothing more.

That was until the day the spider appeared.  
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Hello! Thank you to all who have read this far! This is my first story on fanfiction and I am very excited. If you feel the need to share anything with me, constructive criticism, a misspelled word, anything, hit the review button please! I'll update when I can but I won't post another chapter until I have the next one written. Thanks for listening to my babbling!:)


	3. Chapter 3

My policy on spiders was simple: if they leave me alone, I left them alone. I was too much a chicken to try to kill them, unless it was with water and far away. I tried to sic my cats on a few but they just looked at me. My old house had plenty of daddy long legs and a couple of the fuzzy jumpy spiders running around. But they tended to stay out of the bright and noisy places, like my kitchen.

I tried not to linger in my kitchen anymore. I didn't want to dwell on he-who-must-not-be-named. (bit dramatic? Obsessive? Yeah kind of) But I wanted to make a dish for my friends who were coming over later than night. I had cookbooks scattered on the island, a pot of potatoes on the stove, and an artichoke on the cutting board. I kept rereading how to cut the damn thing but, it was easier said than done. After many attempts, and cutting my finger, I stabbed the damn thing and threw it in the sink, knife and all.

I leaned against the island. Maybe my friends wouldn't mind mashed potatoes and gravy. They probably weren't feeling too adventurous tonight. And my cooking was unreliable at best. I turned up my music and let my hair down. Somehow music made everything better, even my cooking.

Something made me turn around and I wished I hadn't. In the middle of my island, sitting calm as can be on a cookbook was the biggest spider I had ever seen. It was violent shades of red and blue and staring at me with big eyes.

I screamed. I back away and hopped on the sink, narrowly missing the stove. The spider flinched.

"Ok Em calm down, breathe." I looked away from the spider and took several deep breaths. "Ok." I turned back to the spider. It was just sitting there still looking at me. My cat Mickey peered around the corner and walked on. Go figure. "Ok, spider." The spider perked up. I shivered. "Spider, I'll stay out of your way if you stay out of mine." It still stared at me.

"Great now your talking to spiders Em. Ok, spider, I am cooking and I would greatly appreciate it if you would go back where you came from."

"If you wish," came a voice from my living room. Lilting flute music drifted over us and the spider scuttled back and forth before gracefully descending on a thin string of silk. It scuttled toward the living room and like an idiot, I followed it.

In the middle of my living room stood the red-clad man, Larten Crepsley. He was swaying as he played the flute. The spider followed the music like it was in a trance. It crawled up his leg and around his shoulder. He let the last note fade and looked at me.

"Hello again."

I swallowed. "Hi."

"You know, it tends to hurt people's feelings when you scream at them. She didn't like that."

"She?" There was no one else in the room besides us.

"Madam Octa." He held out his hand and the spider crawled on. "Say hello Madam Octa." The spider lifted one of its front legs in a weird sort of wave. I gave a weak wave back. I had to sit down. He had a trained spider. That was even more evidence he had to be bad news.

He stared at me. "I know she can be a bit overwhelming, especially when she sneaks up on you." He opened a cage on my coffee table and set Madam Octa inside. He straightened back up and looked at me.

"The last time we met I had intended not to return. However it appears my spider wanted to meet the lady that saved her master's life. I came to retrieve her, and thank you." He slowly walked over to the couch I was on and sat down beside me. I tried not to look at his face but that didn't last long. His crystal clear blue eyes locked on mine once again. He was just so hypnotizing. "I mean it when I say that you saved my life. If you hadn't come home when you had, you would have come home to me laying dead on your floor. I can never repay the debt I owe you ma'am."

He reached inside his coat and pulled out a handful of blood red roses. "Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady." There was some squeaking from the cage. He looked at the spider. "Yes Octa, you're beautiful too." He smiled at me. "She loves compliments. I don't suppose you'd like a closer look? I promise she won't bite." If he had been across the room I could have said no, but I didn't. Was I weak and deranged?

He grabbed the cage and pulled Madam Octa back out. He held her on his palm. I got a closer look at her unusual pattern. I also got a closer look at her extra legs and eyes. I tried hard not to shudder.

"Not a big spider fan?"

"How did you know? Was it my scream that gave it away?" He smiled at my sarcasm.

"Go on," he said to his spider, "Give her the look." I lifted my eyebrow at him. The spider turned around for a second and then peeked over at me. She stared at me and I swear she started to tear up. Her little fangs started quivering. She looked so sad and helpless I almost wanted to reach out and hold her. Almost.

I must've made a face because he broke out in a laugh. It was loud and rich. "Alright, quit stealing the spotlight Octa." He put her away, despite her squeaking.

"Here I am, stealing your hospitality and I didn't even catch your name."

"Emmaline," I mumbled, not wanting to get trapped in those eyes again.

"Emmaline," he said as he was trying it on for size. "It's beautiful. Miss Emmaline-" My front door opened and Annie and Lea walked in. I could hear them chattering and walking to the kitchen, carrying bags. "Another time then," he whispered and he was gone. Madam Octa and her cage was gone. The roses were still sitting on my lap.

Lea walked out. "Em?" She found me still sitting on the couch staring at the roses. I secretly hoped that if I stared at them long enough he would come back. I don't know why I wanted him to come back, I just did.

Annie followed her. "Oooh, roses! Spill! Who's the lucky man?" Annie plopped down in the spot he had sat in and that broke the trance.

"Man? I picked them up for us! Come on, let's eat." I heard sizzling.

"Em, I turned off your potatoes, but I don't think we can save them."

"I tried girls." We started toward the kitchen, the girls leading the way. I saw a flash of red and a card drifted on top of the flowers. _Until next time_ it read. It wasn't signed, but I knew who it was from. I looked out the window.

"Until next time."


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next couple of weeks, I didn't see him or Madam Octa again. I didn't tell Lea or Annie about it because they already thought I was crazy. The sane part of me lectured over and over again how dangerous he was – he could have killed me that afternoon. He could break into my house at anytime and do whatever he wanted. He moved faster than I could see and he had a pet spider. I wondered if that was normal for a vampire.

Because he was a vampire, wasn't he? He drank my blood, who else does that? Cannibals. But something told me he wasn't a cannibal. The same something that told me he wouldn't hurt me, that he wasn't dangerous to me.

I kept the roses in the living room – right in front of his place on the couch. This time, I didn't hold myself back from obsessing. I researched like it was my job, and found nothing but urban legends. I kept his card in my back pocket, and every once in a while I would pull it out and ponder. How had he ended up bleeding on my floor that afternoon? Did he really come back for his spider, or was that an excuse to see me? Why did he want to see me again? Was it some vampire thing to visit someone they had drank from? I had so many questions and I kicked myself for not asking them when I had the chance.

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into months. Summer became fall, fall became winter. I had slowly lost hope that I would see him again. The roses died and his note was faded and crinkled. Did vampires live forever? How long would it be until next time? Lea knew something was wrong. I'm sure she suspected it was 'the crazy man' as they called him, but she didn't say anything. So she did the only thing she could.

"You got what?" I was positive I hadn't heard her right.

She huffed. "I said I booked us some rooms in Florida for a week."

"Really? When?" I demanded. The excitement was getting the better of me and I started pacing across the floor.

"Friday. As in we-leave-this-Friday."

I groaned. "Lea, I have work and –"

"Quit worrying! I already worked everything out with everyone. But I think we should get someone to watch your house, just in case, y'know…"

"I know, I know. I'll find someone. Lea thank you so much!" I did a little impromptu dance right there in the living room.

"Thank me after you get the bill. I knew how much you love Harry Potter."

I had two days to pack and find a house sitter. I didn't have any neighbors and both my friends were going with me. Lea really wouldn't call off the trip if I couldn't find a house sitter, would she? I didn't want to take a chance. I called my coworkers and they politely declined, probably because they had heard the rumors about the skeletons in my dungeon. Scaredy cats. Thursday night came and I still didn't have a sitter. I was debating just lying to Lea, but that didn't feel right.

I was having a quiet night by myself. Tea and rice, with the mandatory side of cat hair, was my supper. Me and my kitties were curled up watching a marathon of Harry Potter. I wasn't really paying attention, I was worrying that I had packed everything and wondered if I would manage to fall off of something. I was sure that if I left out enough food, my cats would be ok.

Mickey broke through my thoughts when he started growling. Mickey has anxiety issues and to hear him growl was stranger than the sky turning green. I set my dinner on the table and all of my cats scattered, hissing with inflated tails. Normally I would've found that funny, but what in the world would make them act like that?

I turned around and there stood Larten Crepsley. I was so surprised I backed into the table, almost knocking over my food. The cold air reminded me I was in my thin pjs and I got goosebumps. His hands were folded in front of him, hold a top hat. He smiled lightly.

"Good evening Miss Emmaline." He bowed. "I apologize for disturbing you unannounced, but I left my top hat here last time."

Ok, it had been months since he had last been here, I would have definitely seen that top hat. It wasn't small and I didn't own a hat. It would've been covered in dust and cat hair. I could see through his excuse so easily this time.

"Ah, yes, your hat. How selfish of me to keep it. Tell me, where was it hiding all this time?"

He licked his lips and looked flustered. "Alright, I really did not leave my hat here." He tossed it on the table. "I came to see you."

"You could've called. I would've been dressed and I could've offered you something. Would you like some rice? There's some left."

His smile widened. "No thank you ma'am. I don't think your cats would appreciate me overstaying my welcome." He turned to leave.

"You're not leaving already are you? I'm not kicking you out," I reached out toward him.

"You want me to stay?" He turned back with hope in his eyes.

"Please." He smiled and had a seat on the couch.

"Sure I can't get you anything?"

"No, thank you."

"Alright." I shifted.

He laughed. "I can tell you are bursting with questions, miss. You can ask them."

I smiled, embarrassed. "Why did you wait so long to come back?"

He looked off in the distance before he answered. "Time for me is different than it is for you. I am sure that it seemed like an awfully long time. A few months are nothing to me, even though these last few have been dragging on." He looked at me. "But that does not answer your question. I had errands to run, and they took longer than I expected. Believe me, I would have come sooner."

"Why?" He looked at me confused. "Why do you keep coming back? Not that I'm trying to get rid of you, I'm just wondering."

"You go for the jugular, huh? Your question is not as simple as it should be." He thought for a few minutes. "I will answer your question, and truthfully, but ask me something else."

"Why can't you answer it now?"

I made him laugh again. "Persistent, you are. I am not sure how far I should take you into my world. Once you enter it, you can never go back." He stared at me.

"Well aren't you cryptic?" I said, getting up, taking my now cold food to the kitchen. It was rude leaving it sit there and I needed an excuse to break the tension. He followed.

"Can I ask a few questions?" He leaned against the doorframe as I started tidying up.

"You let yourself into my house. You can ask whatever you want."

"Does it bother you that I do that? I will knock from now on."

"I'll think your some traveling salesman or the police. Everyone I know just comes in. A heads up would be nice though." We heard one of my cats growling from the hall. I was mortified.

"I am really sorry about that, they're not usually like this." I walked over to find Mickey staring at him like he was the devil. "Mick, quit."

"Cats generally do not like me." I reached out to pet him and he swatted at me! My sweet innocent Mickey clawed me! I pulled my arm back to find a deep scratch.

"Fine. Stay under there then." I turned around and he was right behind me. He softly took my arm and looked at the cut. I was going to make some excuse and pull away but the look in his eyes ensnared me again. I couldn't look away from them, but he licked one of his fingers. He looked back at my cut and delicately drug his finger over it. It barely stung but it healed up right in front of me. He let go of my arm and I didn't want him to.

"I am sorry you were hurt. Maybe I should go, I am upsetting your cats." He turned around again and I grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't go. Please." He turned back around. "My cats can just be upset."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

We found ourselves back in the living room, the movie repeating itself. He asked me all sorts of questions from my favorite color to why I had four cats.

"It seems a bit excessive to have four cats," he said.

"Not to me. Even when they aren't very nice. You know, Larten," I tried to make it sound nonchalant, but I failed. I had always thought of him as him, not by his name, "you still haven't answered my question. Don't think I won't forget."

He smiled. "I like how you say my name…. Alright, are you ready to know the whole truth? You can never go back." He looked so serious.

"Yes. I want to know."

"Alright… I am a vampire, you know that. There are others like me, some more like me than others. I do not know how much you know about us, but vampires do not kill those they feed from. The others, the vampaneze, they kill their victims."

"Are they like chimpanzees? Sorry," I added. He didn't like to be interrupted.

"That is one of the ridiculous things I have heard in a while. Anyway, there is a vampaneze in the area. Normally they are discreet, but this one has gone on a rampage. I am trying to catch him. That is why I am in the area. I watch over his victims, they mark who they are after, and try to thwart his plans. That makes him very angry and he attacked me. That is why I was bleeding on your floor."

"He attacked you _here?_ We should go to the police!"

He laughed. "Miss Emmaline, they would laugh us out of the police station before we could tell them the whole story." He sobered up. "But yes, he attacked me here…" He licked his lips and looked at me carefully. "I was watching you because you the one he plans to kill."

Well. Nothing like coming out and saying it. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to react, how does one react when they're told someone is after them? He seemed to think I was taking it ok because he continued.

"I owe you my life. If you had not come home when you did that day, he would have killed me. He thought you were someone else and fled."

I was silent for a moment. "Why…why are you protecting me? Why not just let him have me?"

"You ask all the hard questions. Not something like what was your first pet, no you go for the hardest ones…I do not know. Something tells me I need to. That is the best answer I can give you." He looked at the clock. "I think you should go to bed soon Miss Emmaline. Don't you have a trip tomorrow?"

"Em. How do you know about that?"

"More questions! I pay attention. I also know that you need a house sitter. If you would not protest, I volunteer my services." I started to smile. Lea couldn't say anything because I really did have a house sitter, I just couldn't tell her who it was. And it would guarantees that he would stick around, at least for a little while.

"Alright. Where-"

He put his finger on my lips. His skin was rough. "No more questions Em. Go to bed. I will be here in the morning." I smiled.

"Alright."

"Goodnight Miss Emmaline."

"Em. Goodnight Larten."

He smiled. "Goodnight Em."

Thank everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited my story! It really means a lot. I have only read about half the series, so if there are any inaccuracies, please point them out to me. I am also in love with the movie, so that is where most of my descriptions will come from. I'll shut up now, thanks!:)


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. I opened my eyes to see nothing.

"Good morning Miss Emmaline." I heard his voice, but I couldn't see him. I rubbed my eyes but that didn't help.

"Oh, sorry." There was some rattling. "You will have to excuse the darkness, the sun and I do not get along." Larten flipped on the light with an apologetic smile.

On my bedside table was a tray with eggs, bacon, toast and orange juice, things I didn't even have in the fridge. "What's all this?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"What does it look like? It is breakfast. I thought I would make you some since you have a long day."

"Thank you. Did you make some for yourself?"

"I am not hungry." He sat down at the food of my bed. I was very impressed, and a little embarrassed. He specifically made me breakfast, when he probably should have been sleeping, and woke me up early, but I didn't particularly care for eggs and orange juice. I wasn't going to tell him though, I didn't want to seem ungrateful. Where did he get this stuff anyway?

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, no, it's perfect. Thank you."

He bowed his head. "You are welcome Miss Emmaline."

"Em," I said around a mouthful of toast. He chuckled. "Where did you get this stuff?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?" I shook my head, my mouth full of bacon. He sighed. "Are you going to question everything I do?"

"Maybe," I mumbled. Man could he cook!

He smiled. I liked when he smiled, his face softened. "I made a quick trip to the local store."

I stared at him. "What? The closest grocery store is 45 minutes away! Do you have a car?" I went to look out my window, but he had garbage bags across the windows.

"No, I flitted."

"What's that?"

"Flitting is very fast running."  
"So you ran all the way there and back? Just to make me breakfast?"

"It is not what you think," he said amused. "I will demonstrate." He stood up and disappeared with a flash of red. I blinked and he returned with my phone, which I had left downstairs last night. "See? Flitting is very fast. The whole trip took five minutes." He laughed at my shocked expression.

I finished my delicious breakfast and kicked Larten out of my room so I could get dressed. I was excited for Florida and Harry Potter, but I was a little reluctant. I finally had him here for a while and all I was going to do was leave.

I let him back into my room to give him some instructions. "Ok, no wild parties, try not to burn the house down, no fights if you can help it. Do you think he'll attack you while I'm gone?"

"Do not worry about me."

"Don't tell me that. I don't want to come home to you lying dead on my floor!"

"I appreciate your concern Madam." He smiled again.

"Em. How about I just call at a certain time of night? To make sure you're ok?"

"Em, I will be fine, but if it will make you feel better, you can call."

"How's 11 sound? Is it too early? Will you still be sleeping? Do you sleep during the day?"

He shook his head, amused. "Yes, I do sleep during the day. 11 will be fine."

"Sorry to keep you up then. I'll get out of your hair soon. Umm…just make sure my cats have food and the water isn't turning green. You can help yourself to anything here. You can crash here if you want and if you have any friends they can come over if you but no wild parties."

He laughed. "I feel like a teenager."

"Sorry. I feel really bad about leaving you with a killer on the loose." I finished packing and looked at him.

"Em, I am tougher than I look. He may have got the best of me once, he will not get a second chance."

"Still. Here's my number if you need me." I scribbled it on scrap paper for him.

"This looks like chicken scratch." I laughed. My handwriting was bad.

I could hear someone pulling up the drive and honking a horn. That was probably Lea, telling me to hurry my butt up.

"I think that's my ride." I grabbed my bag and we walked out and down the stairs. All the downstairs windows were covered with garbage bags. I guess it was true that vampires didn't like sun.

"I hope you do not mind," he said, pointing to garbage bags.

"No, no, it's okay. Do whatever you gotta do. I don't care." We stopped at the door. Lea kept honking her horn.

"Well, I hope you have a good trip. Have fun."

"Why do you look so sad?"

He shook his head. "I will tell you when you get back. Go."

"Call me if you need anything."

"I will be fine, the house will be ok and I will feed your cats."

I smiled. "Alright. See you later Larten."

He took my hand and kissed it. He locked eyes with me. "Goodbye Miss Emmaline." I would've stayed there staring if Lea hadn't laid on the horn. I stumbled outside and blinked in the harsh morning light. I crawled into Lea's already packed car.

"Florida here we come! Did you find a house sitter?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Is he cute?" Annie asked.

"I didn't tell you it was a guy!"

"Is he cute?" she demanded.

I took a moment before I answered. "You could say that." I turned back to my house and saw him wave from a window. I returned it and turned around before the girls could see.

"So who is he?"

I smirked thinking of the heart attack they'd have if I told them the truth. "Just a friend."

Thank you to all who have read this far! It really does mean a lot to me. And thank you Greenwood Archer for pointing out my inaccuracy. I have fixed that in previous chapters. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!


	6. Chapter 6

He leaned against the table. He wondered what she was doing right now. Was she out partying or settling down for the night? Had she told her friends about him, or was she keeping him a secret? Was she worrying over him instead of having fun? He knew she wouldn't' forget to call, she called every night exactly at 11. She would always ask if he was alright. He knew she couldn't ask everything she wanted, her friends were far too nosy for that, but he could tell. He would tell her how her cats were doing, not that they would let him get near them. He would tell her there was nothing new about the vampaneze, just so she could relax. He didn't want her to worry needlessly.

He spent most of his nights wandering around Miss Emmaline's house and surrounding property. Not much of it had changed since he had last been there. The surrounding woods had encroached further than he remembered. Someone had updated the windows and repainted the inside. He still remembered the first time he stepped in that house all those years ago.

He wondered how Darren was doing. Leaving his assistant alone with Gavner for this long was bound to have repercussions on both of them. Perhaps he would visit him tonight, after her call. Maybe he would bring Madam Octa with him tonight. She would appreciate the change in scenery. He supposed it was better to leave right after her call, just in case Murlough did decide to pay him a visit.

Even after months of protecting Emmaline, Murlough still wanted her. There were countless other 'bags of blood' in the area, but all he wanted was her. Larten almost didn't blame him. Her blood had tasted magnificent, but maybe it was because he was so close to death. Larten didn't understand Murlough's obsession with her. Then again, there wasn't much Larten did understand about Murlough.

Two more nights and she would come home. He would have to move his coffin soon. Maybe if Darren wanted, he could spend the night; she did say he could have friends over. He chuckled. She acted so mature for her young age. She was so curious, her questions never ended. Honestly, he loved the questions. He loved that she was interested in him and why did what he did. But he would never admit that to her. It flattered him.

The phone rang beside him.

"Hello, Miss Emmaline's residence, can I take a message?" came the voice from the other end of the phone.

"Miss Emmaline? Oooh, you didn't tell us he was a gentleman Em," Annie teased.

"Shut up!" I hissed at the girls. "You know it's me," I said to him. I was sure he could hear them giggling in the background.

I could practically hear his smirk. "Having fun are we?"

"Yes. How are you?"

"I am fine Miss. I have not seen or heard him for a while."

"Miss? Did you get a butler Em?" Lea asked.

"A cute butler?" Annie burst into giggles.

My face turned bright red. "Guys, shut up!" I walked into the bathroom. "I'm sorry about them, they are so immature."

"What in the world have you been telling them Miss Emmaline?"

"Oh stop that! It's Em!"

"But Miss Emmaline, that is not appropriate for your butler, even if he is cute." I could hear him holding back his laughter.

I sat on the toilet. "I give up. You guys win."

He laughed. "I could not resist. How was your day Em?"

"Haven't you heard? It's national pick-on-Em day. How was yours?

"Dark. I was sleeping."

"I figured. How's –"

"Your cats? They are fine, or at least I think they are. You didn't tell me how your day was."

"Annie and Lea decided to get drunk and won't stop teasing me."

"About your cute butler?"

"Larten stop that! They're gonna hear you and that'll egg them on!" He started laughing. "So what's on the agenda for tonight?"

"I think I will go visit Darren tonight, maybe bring Madam Octa. She misses you too."

"Too? Do you miss me Larten?"

"I think you are hearing things Miss," he said.

"Call me miss one more time…"

"And you'll what?" He was definitely amused now.

"I'll let you know when I think of it." He laughed.

Someone pounded on the door. "Em come out, we want to talk to your cute butler!" Lea shouted.

"Does he have a cute butt?" Annie slurred.

"Oh my god, please tell me you can't hear them," I pleaded.

"I can hear every word they say Miss Emmaline."

"I'm never living this down am I?" He laughed. He was in a good mood tonight. "Are you getting hungry?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I could tell his attitude changed.

"No."

"I didn't mean to make you upset. Who's Darren?"

"He is my assistant."

"Do you want to go?"

"No," he said softly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset. I was just curious."

"Curosity killed the cat Em."

"Good thing I'm not a cat, huh?"

"Smartass." I started laughing.

"Emmm, come on!" Lea pounded some more on the door.

"I think they're gonna knock the door down."

"Should I let you go?"

"Maybe. If not, who knows what they'll ask next."

"Good night Emmaline," he whispered.

"Good night Larten."


	7. Chapter 7

"Say hello to your cute butler for us Em!" Annie teased.

I turned back to her. "Annie, shut up!" The girls laughed as I stomped up the porch. I waved as they drove away. Once inside, I tiptoed around to start unpacking. It was the middle of the day and I was sure he was sleeping. I didn't want to be rude and wake him up.

"I can take your things Miss Emmaline."

I whirled around and trippe over one of the chairs. It was just Larten, dressed in his usual red with a black coat. He came over to me and helped me back to my fee. "You scared the crap out of me! I thought you were sleeping."

"I am sorry, are you alright? I did not mean to startle you," he worried.

"Just an adrenaline rush. Don't tell me you waited up for me," I said, starting to unpack.

"Cute butlers can't sleep on the job Miss Emmaline," he smirked. I blushed.

"Well then, go put this blanket in my room." I threw my favorite blanket at him, hoping it would land on his head. No such luck, he caught it. He flitted to my room and back before I could turn away.

"So how was your trip?" he asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Part of it was wonderful and the other part sucked. Look, I got sunburnt." I pulled back my sleeve to show him my very red and irritated skin.

"Ouch. You might want to put something on that."

"Later. I'm so jetlagged. How was your night?"

"Fine."

"Just fine?" His tone was off. I looked at him.

"Yes."

I frowned. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing," he said moving to the table. "It was a boring night." He looked me in the eyes and tried to do that hypnotizing thing. I didn't let him.

"You're lying to me. It made you uncomfortable, which is why you moved to the table. What happened?"

"That was blunt. I just visited Darren. I left him with my friend Gavner."

"You're still lying to me. You could've had him stay here."

"It would be good for both of them to spend some time with each other."

"You're still avoiding me."

"I think I'll just hit the pine."

"Did he come back?" I guessed. The question made him stop in his tracks.

"Yes. Yes, he did." Larten turned back to face me with a weird expression. I couldn't tell what it was.

"Are you okay?" I started rushing over to him when he burst out laughing.

"You hear that a murderous monster was in your home last night with the intent to kill you and you worry about me."

"Yes! I wasn't here last night, you were. I'm okay, but are you? It isn't going to really sink in until he's charging at me," I said offhandedly.

"Unbelievable. Yes, Em, I am fine."

"Good. Now you can go to bed."

"I think you are more tired that I am. Maybe we should both go to bed."

"Alright." We walked quietly up the stairs. We passed on of the guest bedrooms and I saw a boy passed out on the bed. He was snoring away.

"This is Darren. He had a late night."

"He looks young."

"He's older than you," Larten replied. We walked away and passed the bedroom Larten had chosen. I knew that because there was a large coffin in the center of the room.

"How do you know how old I am?"

"You are twenty-two. He's twenty-three."

"I see. You still didn't answer me." We stopped at his door. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

"Maybe. I have errands to run. Do you want me to stay?"

"Yeah kinda." I scratched the back of my head. This was getting awkward fast. "You never told me why you looked sad when I left."

"You never forget anything do you?"

"Don't answer my question with another question."

"Answer mine and I'll answer yours."

"I asked first!" That made him laugh.

"Alright… I do not know how to answer."

"Just tell me."

"You make it sound so easy." He looked around, as if the answer would be written in the air. "I would answer you if I could but I cannot." There was that sad face again. I would let this question go, for now.

"Okay. You know where I am if you need me." I started to walk away when I heard him start to splutter. I turned back around. He was watching me with another weird expression. For a second, I thought something was wrong.

"What?" I asked.

"…Are you extremely tired?"

I smiled. "No, but you will be tonight."

He shrugged. "I will live."

* * *

We stayed in my room, we didn't want to wake up Darren. We talked about everything, little things about my trip, little things about his coffin and funny stories about Darren and Gavner. He didn't mind that I kept asking and asking questions, he was just as willing to spill as I was to ask. It was nice to just talk and not worry about my friends barging in and interrupting us.

It was late afternoon when both started feeling really tired. We were both kind of dozing off on my bed, but I don't think either one of us wanted to go to sleep. I had to walk him back to his coffin, just to make sure he got some sleep. We said good night, afternoon, whatever, and I finished unpacking before finally collapsing on my bed.

I started drifting off to sleep when I had a bad feeling. You know the feeling before a bad dream sneaks up on you? That was the one. Unfortunately, I was already asleep and I didn't have enough willpower to wake up. It started out dark and I couldn't open my eyes. I could hear clanking and rattling of what I assumed were chains and I was hot. I heard moaning and screaming, which sounded vaguely familiar. I kept trying so hard to open my eyes but they wouldn't open. I got nervous the more I tried and I started thrashing and scratching at my eyes to see. I could feel pain and blood but I needed to see what was going on, I needed to see what they were doing, if they were coming after me.

"Em!" I could hear someone shouting my name, far off in the distance. Unseen hands grabbed me and started shaking me. I screamed and clawed at them but they held me down and just kept shaking.

"Emmaline!" The voice sounded closer now and their grip loosened a little.

"Em!" My eyes flew open and I was staring straight at Larten. I was breathing hard and I was covered in sweat. I was still shaking and I couldn't hold myself up. He was holding me by the shoulders and staring at me with such concern. I looked down at my hands and saw they had blood on them. Did I really scratch myself that hard?

"Are you ok?" he slowly let go of me and sat down beside me. He had scratch marks on his arms. I tentatively reached up to feel light scratches around my eyes. I wanted to tell him I was ok, shake it off and be strong, to fix him up. But I couldn't. I was still freaked out from my dream and I shook my head and hugged my knees.

He licked the scratches on his arm and they healed. I would have to ask him about that later. He held me close to him, but not tight. I wanted to apologize, but all I could do was shake. Darren was standing in the doorway, staring at me with a shocked expression. I couldn't shut my eyes, I was scared they wouldn't open again.

Larten held me while I calmed down. He didn't say anything, he just held me. After a while, Darren left us alone. When I could finally hold myself up, I sat up. He still kept one arm around me.

"I'm sorry." I wanted to say more, but my voice cracked.

"You had a bad dream. Are you ok?"

"I'll be ok. I didn't mean to scratch you. Or wake you guys up." I looked down at my hands still covered in blood.

"It does not matter. Are you sure you are okay? You were thrashing hard, are you sure you are not hurt?"

"No I'm fine, I just can't sleep for a few years." I tried to laugh but it came out weak. "Thanks for waking me up. Sorry."

"Let's get you cleaned up." He helped me to the bathroom and washed his blood off my hands. We wandered down to the kitchen where he made me hot chocolate.

"What was your dream about?" he asked, sitting beside me, his hand on my back.

"I couldn't see but something bad was happening," I answered quietly.

He hugged me closer. "You are fine. I will not let anything happen to you." We sat there, him holding me and me hugging my hot chocolate. In that moment, I was really glad I had come home to Larten Crepsley bleeding on the floor that afternoon, all those months ago.


	8. Chapter 8

Neither of us said anything as we sat there. Still, it was comforting to know he was there. It was nice to feel him holding me, now that the terror had worn off. I had no idea where that dream came from. I never watch scary movies, and I didn't eat anything weird. I felt so guilty for scratching Larten when he was only trying to help me. I'm sure it hurt him, but he was polite enough not to say anything.

I could hear Darren wandering around in the living room. I knew I should had offered him something to do and be a good host, but I just couldn't walk away from Larten's embrace. I don't know what I stayed as long as I did, but I did. I just happened to look at the clock on the microwave, which read 11:58. Had I really slept for that long? It hadn't seemed like it.

There were lots of things I should have been doing. I should've been checking on my cats, taking a shower, putting something on my sunburn, tidying up around the house. And yet, I stayed in his arms. I had so many questions to ask him, but I stayed silent. When I set my empty mug down, he started talking.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah." I put my mug in the sink and we walked to the living room to find Darren, sitting on the couch, staring blankly at a wall.

"You can watch tv, you know. That's why it's there."

"Oh." He still just sat there. I turned it on and tossed him the remote.

"You know, I never asked where you guys live," I said, turning back to Larten.

"You must feel better because you are asking questions again. We live just a little ways away." We left Darren in the living room and walked into the dining room. I never really ate in there, so there was a layer of dust and paw prints on everything.

"So…are you guys leaving tonight?" I asked, turning away from Larten.

"Not if you are uncomfortable. We can stay as long as you like."

"Well you said you had some errands-" Suddenly he was behind me, holding my shoulders. I could feel my heart starting to pound.

"Errands can wait." His hands felt heavy on my shoulders.

The phone rang. I jumped and Larten snatched his hands back like he had been burned. I ran a hand through my hair, muttering and went to answer the phone.

"Em?" Lea questioned.

"Who else would it be?"

"Your cute butler? You weren't answering your cell and Annie couldn't get a hold of you either. We just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I must've left it in my bedroom. I had a nap. Yeah I'm fine and I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down."

"Oh can he hear me? _Em thinks you have a cute butt!_" Lea shouted. I sighed. Why did she do that? Larten starting laughing in the background. He held out his hand, almost as if he expected me to give him the phone.

"Did he hear me?"

Larten snatched the phone out of my hand! "Yes, I did."

My mouth popped open. He really took the phone from and was talking to my best friend. My face turned redder than red. I could hear the buzz from Lea's voice but I couldn't hear what she was saying. I could see Larten break out in a huge smile as he stared at me.

"Really? Well well Miss Emmaline." He smirked at me something fierce. I could hear Lea cooing over him using my full name. If I survived this, I would have to change my name.

"I will be sure to tell her. Goodnight Miss," he said as he hung up the phone. He crossed his arms and looked at me. I could see Darren peaking around the corner at us.

"Your friend Lea told me some interesting things."

My mouth was dry. "Did she? What'd she say?"

"She told me that if I were to look in a certain bag, I would find a shirt all wrinkled. She seems to think that shirt belongs to me. Did you take one of my shirts?"

Shiiiiit. I tried not to let my surprise show and tried to lie out my ass. "Don't you think you would notice if one of your shirts went missing? Anyway, why would I take one of your shirts?" I started to walk around him, I had to get out from under his amused gaze.

I saw a flash of red and he was in front of me again. His smirk had changed; he knew I was lying. Lea was so dead when I caught up with her.

"As a matter of fact, I did notice one of my shirts had gone missing. This one," he showed me a wrinkly red shirt, the one I had slept in during the trip. My face burned. "Did you miss me Miss Emmaline?" That bastard looked like he was having the time of his life.

"I can neither confirm nor deny this," I said, ducking my head and moving around him. I could hear Darren laughing at me. Larten didn't let me get far.

"I was just kidding Em. You can have it." He held the shirt out to me.

"It's your shirt." I didn't understand how this much blood could rush to my face.

"Would you like me to wear it for a while, so it smells like me again?" The smug look on his face just boiled my blood. I couldn't answer because I was so embarrassed. I had taken his shirt and slept in it every night, he smelled so good and it just made me feel better. However, I was regretting ever making that decision. He must've took that as a yes (I really did want him to) and started laughing his ass off. I jogged up the stairs and into my bedroom to hide my face.

I could hear him moving around in his room and go downstairs and into the basement. I heard the washer start. He could do laundry? He never ceased to amaze me.

Speaking of the devil, he showed back up in my room, leaning on the doorframe. He didn't say anything, he just stood there and stared at me with a smile on his face. My phone buzzed on the nightstand.

"Lea really didn't tell me you took my shirt." I just stared at him. He smirked back at me. "I knew you took it. I just wanted to see your reaction." If I ever got over my embarrassment, I wasn't sure who I was going to kill first.


	9. Chapter 9

I finally answered my phone and witched out Lea for talking to him. She really didn't tell him about the shirt, but she didn't tell me what she really told me. I knew they were just teasing me, but I didn't want her or Annie to realize that my cute butler was the 'crazy man'.

The rest of the night passed without too much more embarrassment. Darren kept staring at us and sniggering. Every now and then Larten would look at me and smirk, like he knew something I didn't. Which he probably did. We all sat on the couch, vegging out in front of the tv. I tried my best to stay awake, even though I knew I shouldn't. I had work in the morning. But I was scared if I closed my eyes, Larten would disappear again.

I guess I must've dozed off. I thought I heard muttered voices whispering, but it could've been the tv. I brushed it off and closed my eyes. They wouldn't leave while I was right here, would they? I felt something wedge itself behind my back and underneath my knees. I tried to care enough to open my eyes to see what was going on. I didn't need any motivation when I felt the couch disappear and air was the only thing underneath me.

My eyes flew open to see a black collar and pale skin. Larten had picked me up and was now carrying me up the stairs. I have problems with my feet being off the ground. I threw my arms around his neck and held on tight.

"You can put me down now," I said into his shoulder.

He chuckled. "We are almost there." He walked us into my bedroom and set me down on my bed. "You need to get back into your normal cycle."

"But I don't want you guys to leave." Did I really say that out loud? Was I really that tired?

He smiled. "We will not leave until you are ready."

"Promise?"

"You have my word. Get some sleep Em."

"Okay. Goodnight Larten."

"Goodnight Em." He closed the door as he left.

Left to my own devices, I couldn't sleep. I guess the sounds of the tv had put me to sleep, along with the reassurance that Larten provided. How had I gotten so attached in such a short amount of time? Was this normal? I didn't have any relationships to judge by. Did I want a romantic relationship with him? Were these questions too much for one night?

I tried reading, that didn't work. I tried wearing myself out, that didn't work either. I tried keeping my eyes shut for a while and I just got scared. I couldn't turn out the light. It was three in the morning and I still couldn't get any sleep. I would be dead at work if I couldn't get a few hours of sleep.

So I tried pacing around my room, hoping that out of sheer exhaustion I would just collapse. I was at it for about twenty minutes and I wasn't getting tired. I sat on my bed and sighed. Maybe I should just go make myself a cup of coffee and give up.

There was a knock on my door and it cracked open. Larten stood on the other side, wearing the shirt I had taken. I could feel my cheeks get hot. How could I blush when I was this tired?

"Having trouble sleeping?" he asked, letting himself in. It was a good thing I didn't have a habit of walking around naked or in revealing clothes. Should I have been concerned about his lack of respect for personal space? Because I wasn't.

"You could say that." My voice sounded like crap.

"Lay down." I did and he walked over and laid down beside me! Larten Crepsley had just slid into bed with me! I tensed up, I had only shared a bed with my cats before. "Relax," he commanded. He covered me up with my favorite blanket. He moved closer beside me. I tried not to panic. What was I supposed to do?

"Relax," he repeated. He made himself comfy on his side and closed his eyes. Up close, his face was scarred pretty bad, but he was still handsome underneath those scars. He was pretty cute. I had to be losing my mind.

I guess he felt my gaze because he opened his eyes. "Em, go to sleep." He sighed and before I knew it, my drifted shut and I was asleep.

* * *

Larten sighed. He should not have knocked her out but she needed to sleep. He would have been much more comfortable in his coffin, but he doubted whether she would feel the same. He pulled her a little closer.

The nightmare she had earlier had scared him. He couldn't wake her and the look of terror on her face had gripped his heart hard. He never wanted to see that look again. He promised himself he would do everything he could to see to it. He knew he was getting much closer to her than what was proper, but that ceased to matter. She was not just a human anymore, not just something Murlough was after. She was a curious and caring young girl. A girl who was much younger and less mature than he was.

He wondered where they were heading. Would it end in blood and tears? He didn't want it to. He liked making her smile and pretending to be bothered by all her questions. He loved that she had taken something of his, just to be near to him.

Em started breathing heavier and Larten draped his arm over her side. She quieted down.

He was getting in too far over his head. He was only supposed to watch and protect her from a distance. He was not supposed to be lying in bed next to her, watching her sleep. He should not have been caught that afternoon. Yet he was, and he could not regret it, or anything that had happened afterward. He knew this was not a good idea. But he just couldn't stay away.

Larten scooted a little closer to Em and fell asleep.

* * *

Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed, especially Greenwood Archer! You guys don't know how much it means to me. It gives me a lot of motivation to keep going, to keep writing and not give up. That said, I am sorry I didn't post a chapter last night. Last night was rough, so to make up for torturing you poor souls, I am going to post 2 chapters tonight (I hope)! Hope that makes things a little better. As always, if there are any inaccuracies, spelling or grammar mistakes, or any input at all, please tell me! Thanks!


	10. Chapter 10

_Riiing….Riiiing…Riiiing…_ Something was buzzing on my nightstand.

I tried to rollover to shove whatever was buzzing to the floor but there was something in my way. I must've bunched all my blankets up again. I gave up and let it buzz.

My blankets groaned underneath me and my phone crashed to the floor. They shifted and pulled me closer. I sighed and snuggled closer to them.

Wait….I opened my eyes and I saw red. Strange, I didn't have a blanket that red. Whatever. I was too tired to care. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

_Riiing….Riiiing…Riiiing…_ My phone was still buzzing on the floor. I must've set my alarm last night. Damn. I had to get up for work. I huffed and tried to lift myself up. My blankets held onto me and pulled me back down. They usually weren't this stubborn.

Wait…I opened my eyes again and saw my blankets weren't holding me at all. It was none other than Larten Crepsley, holding me tight, sleeping away. I tensed up. My legs were all tangled up in his and his arm was wrapped around my waist. My face must've been up against his chest, which explains the red. His eyes were closed and he looked peaceful. I hadn't noticed it before, but his face seemed to carry a heaviness, almost a world-weariness. He didn't have that now.

He must've felt me tense up because he opened one bleary eye. He just grunted at me.

I giggled. "I have to get up for work, teddy bear." He closed his eye and for a second I thought he was going to pull me back in. Not that I would've minded. But he let me go. He settled back in when I was off the bed. I took my biggest blanket and covered him up with it. He just grunted at me again.

I got ready pretty quickly. Darren was still zoinked out in front of the tv and cats had all banded together in the library. I crept around my house so I wouldn't wake anyone up. I still wasn't too sure about leaving but Larten did give me his word. I left him a message on the nightstand.

_I'll be back around 5:30. You guys can help yourself to anything here. If you need anything call._

_-Em_

* * *

"Seriously Lea, what did you tell him?" I pestered her. She had just taken a big bite of her salad. "Honestly, if you keep eating all that green stuff, you're going to turn into a bunny!" Annie snorted into her pop.

"Not all of us can eat junk food and still look as good as you do Em," Lea said around a mouthful of lettuce. How could she eat that crap?

"You're avoiding the question. Larten tries to do that too. He doesn't get away with it."

"Ooooh, on first name basis with your cute butler ?" Annie teased. I elbowed her.

"Guys come on. Cut that out. He's starting to tease me about it! What did you tell him?"

"You know what that means Em," Annie started.

"He _likes_ you!" Lea finished. I flopped my head in my hands. If only they knew a killer was after me, maybe then they'd act serious. Then again, probably not. I always had to be the serious one, or things would never get done.

We got back to work, with plenty of teasing from the girls. They were having the time of their lives; normally they teased me about Howard, the guy from IT who had it bad for me. That guy was a creep. Just like we were back in second grade, they sent me notes with both our names inside hearts. I promptly ripped them up. The last thing I needed was for Larten to see that and get weirded out thinking I was a crazy, clingy stalker.

When we got off work, the girls wanted to meet him.

"Come on, Em. Please? We won't say anything!"

"I told you, he's sleeping. He keeps weird hours. I'm not going to wake him up. He had a rough night."

"Emmaline, what were you two up to last night?" Annie joked.

"Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Getting a little defensive are we?"

"See you tomorrow guys." They started in with the questions but I just waved. Unless something interesting happened soon, all they would talk about is my cute butler with the cute butt.

I walked into an empty and silent living room. I walked around quietly, made myself a cup of chocolate milk, and headed for the living room. I'm sure my cats had thought I was unleashing horrible monsters on the house. Larten had explained to me that cats don't like vampires. I was sure they would come around some time.

I sat in my library reading until I heard some sign of life upstairs. Darren hadn't quite transitioned fully to vampire hours and he woke up first. He came down the stairs all bleary eyed, complete with bed head. I made him some waffles and switched on the tv. Larten didn't seem to like it too much, but Darren didn't mind. I tried to make conversation, but it was weird to see him looking like sixteen but being older than me.

How did Larten know how old I was? Had he snooped around my house? Did he mind sleeping with me last night? I knew I was violent, I tended to kick my cats off the bed, did I kick him last night? Did I say anything when I was sleeping? What did Lea tell him? I was pretty sure it had something to do his shirt, but all I did was wear it.

I was so caught up in my questions, I didn't notice Larten coming down the stairs. I didn't notice anything until he held his shirt out in front of me. I tried to scowl at him as I snatched it and darted off to my room. I tossed it on my bed and hurried back downstairs. I didn't want to waste any time, I had questions to ask.

I got downstairs and I couldn't find him. I didn't want to seem desperate, so I didn't look for him. I nonchalantly waited in the kitchen, pretending to tidy up. I had to act cool. Twenty minutes passed and he didn't come find me. Maybe he was waiting for me to come find him.

"Hey Darren."

"Yeah?"

"Where's Larten at?" I tried to be all cool about it, but I'm sure I failed miserably.

"I think he said he was going back to the cave to get something."

"The cave?"

"Yeah that's where we stayed for a while." Hmmm… I didn't know there were any caves around here. But maybe it was farther away than I had ever ventured. I turned away from Darren to go look out the door and there he was, standing right behind me. I stumbled a bit and he reached out a hand to grab me.

"Miss me?" he asked with a smirk. I just rolled my eyes and walked back to the kitchen.

"So Darren tells me you guys used to stay in a cave," I started, pretending to wash dishes.

Larten took the seat closest to me. "Yes."

"You know, you guys can stay here til you actually have suitable living arrangements. Or live here, I've got five guest bedrooms.

He smirked at me again. "How long have you known us and you want to offer us room and board? Did your mother ever warn you about strangers?"

"Yes, she did, but you guys shouldn't be living in a cave."

"Does that bother you Em? The thought of us living in a cave?"

"If it didn't, would I have said anything?"

"Maybe asked a million questions." We both chuckled and silence hung in the air. He still hadn't said whether or not he would. Maybe I was making him uncomfortable. Maybe I should just back off for a bit. Were we going to fast? He did have a point, I knew practically nothing about him and Darren, and yet I was offering them to stay with me. Usually I think about things a little more, but maybe my head was too wacked out from lack of sleep and embarrassment.

"Are you trying to break the dish?" His question roused me from my musings.

"Hmm?"

"That dish has endured your torture for ten minutes now."

"Oh." I set the dish down and quit the façade. I really wasn't getting anything accomplished anyway. My phone buzzed in my back pocket.

"Emmmmmmmm," Annie's voice came slurring from the other end.

"You're drunk aren't you Annie?"

She cackled for a bit. "Wasted…Y'know…y'know what I thought of today?"

"Nope."

I heard something crash in the background followed by a curse. "You said your butler's name was Larten, right? The one with the cute butt?" She talking plenty loud enough for him to hear. His ego had to be the size of the Empire State Building by now.

"Yeah so?"

"Wasn't," she paused to burp, "wasn't that the crazy guys name?"

"Annie, you're drunk."

"Emmmmm."

"Go sleep it off."

"Em-"

"Goodnight Annie." I hung up on her protests. Shit. I hoped she was too drunk to remember any of this in the morning. I kinda of hoped the girls would forget about 'the crazy man'. Well, if Annie did remember anything tomorrow, I could blame it on the alcohol.

"Sorry about that, she usually doesn't get that drunk-" I had turned back around to talk to Larten only to find an empty kitchen. What the heck? He was so hot and cold sometimes. I wandered out to the living room to find that empty too.

Had they left? Did they seriously just leave while I was in the middle of a phone call? After he promised he wouldn't leave, he just up and left and didn't even say a word or leave a note? My cats peeked out of their hiding places, a sure sign there weren't any vampires in the vicinity.

What the heck? I dashed upstairs and was relieved to see Larten's coffin still the guest bedroom he had claimed. His shirt was still on my bed. Maybe he hadn't left. I didn't know what was going on.

I flopped down on my bed and covered my face with his shirt. The lights went out. Great. This late at night that either meant someone had crashed into a pole or there was a major storm on the way. I didn't do well with storms. Annie was drunk and in no condition to drive, Lea was out doing something with her cousins, Larten and Darren just up and left. So it was just me and my cats to bear out the storm.

Before I lost my courage, I raced downstairs to collect my cats and some candles. I never did well in the dark. You know that feeling that you're being watched and that something is following you, but it's too dark to see it? That's every time my lights go out. Only this time, the house was creaking behind me. There was something in my house, watching me, following me. And I was all alone.

* * *

Here's the rest of chapter ten! I was going to address your concern Greenwood Archer but you beat me to it :) Thanks!


	11. Chapter 11

I know it said I didn't update yesterday, but I did finished chapter 10, so if you haven't read it, please do or you may be confused. Thanks!

* * *

I didn't try to look back in the darkness, I knew I wouldn't see anything. My cats zipped along ahead of me into my room. I shut the door and pulled a blanket underneath the bed. What I wouldn't give for someone to be with me right now.

The floor creaked right outside my bedroom door. Whatever it was, it was coming to get me. I debated hiding in the closet, but if it walked in now, it would see me.

_Crash!_ Something fell to the floor outside in the hallway. My cats jumped. I had to muffle a scream. Thunder crashed and lightning lit up my room. There was an inhuman growl and more commotion from outside. Maybe it was just a wild animal?

A scream that sounded all too familiar came from the hallway. My heart leapt into my throat. My cats were puffing up and the sounds from the storm and hallway were getting worse. I closed my eyes. I should've been brave. I should've gone outside and seen what was going on. But I was so scared.

The hallway went silent. The storm continued to crash on. I waited and waited for something, _anything, _to happen. The minutes dragged on. I couldn't stand the anticipation.

My door creaked open. I couldn't see anything in the dark, but I heard heavy footsteps. There was no way this was a wild animal. Whoever it was, they walked over to my closet and opened it. They knew I was in here, they were looking for me. It was only a matter of time before they found me. I didn't have anything to defend myself with. I could hear the footsteps coming closer, first hesitant. They knew I was under here. I started to shake. My cats started hissing and pawing the air. I could see something kneeling down. I had to fight back a scream.

"Emmaline?" Larten's voice came out of the darkness. I could barely make out his face.

Had it really been Larten this whole time? What in the hell had he been doing out there?

Tornado sirens started going off. Larten held his hands out to me. "Come on, Em." I shakily crawled out from underneath the bed. I hadn't recovered from my adrenaline rush, but when I did, Larten Crepsley was going to get a beating. Larten picked me up, blanket and all, and carried me downstairs to my basement. I started to say something but he beat me to it. "Your cats will be fine Em." When we got to the basement, Darren was already there, holding an icepack to his head. Candles light up a small area. Larten sat down on a box of books and held me.

"Shh. It is ok Em. Why are you crying?" I brushed at my eyes and sure enough, I had been crying.

"Not crying," I muttered, brushing away the evidence.

"Of course you're not." I punched him in the chest. "Ow. What was that for?"

"That was for scaring the shit out of me."

"It wasn't his fault." The candle light cast most of Darren's face in shadow.

"He is right, you know. If Murlough had not cut your power lines-"

"That was Murlough out there?!" Larten looked at me like he was questioning my intelligence.

"Did you think I was making all that ruckus by myself?" That certainly changed things. Of course Larten wouldn't have done that just to scare me, I should have realized that. He wouldn't have followed me in the dark like some creeper. I shivered. Now the realization that someone was after me sunk in. I didn't like it.

"Are you alright?" I asked Darren.

He nodded. "Just got knocked over the head."

"What about you?"

"I am fine, Em."

"I heard you yell though."

"You must be feeling better."

"What happened?" I asked Darren. Larten was getting better at avoiding questions.

"Murlough's got a thing for biting people."

"He bit you?! Are you ok?" I started pulling at his arms, looking for bite marks.

He just chuckled. "Em, I said I was fine." I didn't really believe him, but there wasn't much I could do about it. We could hear the storm raging above us. The wind had really picked up. The tornado had to be close by.

"So is he gone?" I asked.

"Would we be just sitting here if he was?" I walked into that one. Still, the thought of a killer with an affinity for biting was scary. Especially when he had been following and could have gone after me at any point.

"Why did you guys just vanish?"

"He brought some of his friends to distract us. Unfortunately, it worked, but not for long."

For a long time, we just listened to the storm wear itself out. The sires eventually quieted, but we stayed in the basement until most of the thunder had gone. Larten still kept me on his lap and held me. He seemed distant now, almost like he was thinking too hard. I wanted to ask what he was thinking about, but I didn't want to disturb him.

We moved back upstairs and took the candles with us. I was sure it would be tomorrow afternoon before my power was turned back on. Looks like I wasn't taking a shower tomorrow morning. My house felt alien. I know it was stupid, but it felt like my house had turned against me. My power had gone out (ok been cut), and my house hid a killer from me. I expected Murlough to pop out from behind every corner. I never did good in the dark because my imagination would run wild and get the best of me.

Darren went to his bedroom to go sleep off his headache. I probably should have tried to sleep, but I kept imagining monsters staring at me, waiting to get their claws into me. Larten stayed up with me.

"Are you ok?" he finally asked me after a long stretch of silence.

"Yeah. I'm not the one that got bit. Why?"

"You stopped asking questions."

"Well if that bothers you, I've got tons."

He laughed. "Alright, let's hear them."

"Did it hurt when Murlough bit you?"

He paused for a second. "Yes, generally if something bites you, it hurts. He was strong, he must have fed recently." He started staring off into space again.

"Have you?" I almost didn't want to ask.

"Have I what?"

"Fed lately." I didn't know how else to put it.

He wouldn't meet my eyes. "No."

"Well," I started rolling up my sleeve and offered him my wrist, "Here you go. Bon appetite."

That got a smile out of him. He pushed my arm away. "No."

"Come on, do I taste that bad?"

"Em."

"Come on, what's a little blood between friends?"

"Friends?"

Oops. Did he not see me as a friend? Was I just something to protect? "Yeah. You're my friend. And a good friend feeds her friends. Drink up." I shoved my wrist back at him.

He looked at me a long time, the candlelight casting shadows on his scarred face. He looked even older now. Had I said the wrong thing? Was I too pushy?

He sighed. "Alright. But only because you're so damn pushy. Normally vampires do not feed from a wrist. We make a small incision in the shoulder."

"Why didn't you do it that way the first time?" I asked, curious. I pushed my shirt and bra strap down and offered him my shoulder. He wouldn't look at me and he seemed tense.

"I didn't want you to get that close to me," he whispered. I almost didn't hear him. I didn't understand why he didn't want to be close to me. He seemed to like holding me and he slept with me last night; why wouldn't he want to be close to me? Was it like in Twilight, where they turn into sharks? I doubted it.

He finally crept closer to me and brushed off my shoulder. He caught my gaze. The candlelight seemed to make his eyes glow as if there were on fire. I felt a bit of pressure on my shoulder and he lowered his mouth to the cut. He started drinking and the warm feeling came back over me. I let my head tip back and just enjoyed it. I wasn't sure if that was natural, but it felt too good that I didn't care. He didn't take as much as he did last time. The warm feeling didn't fade, even after he kissed the cut goodbye. He pushed my shirt back up and didn't look at me.

I kind of wanted to scoot closer to him and cuddle, but I didn't. I wasn't sure if that would be too weird, but I was pretty sure it would be. He didn't look too comfortable.

"Thank you."

"Anytime." Silence fell for a while again and I just enjoyed the warm feeling.

"Did I take too much? You are quiet again."

"No, I'm just enjoying the warmth."

He looked confused. "Warmth?"

Maybe it wasn't a natural thing to happen. Oh well. "I get a warm feeling when you do that." He was quiet again. Eventually the warm feeling wore off. Lightning lit up the room like daylight and I braced myself for the thunder that was sure to follow. I wasn't prepared for it to shake the whole house. I almost knocked over a candle.

Larten laughed when I jumped. "Do storms scare you?"

"No." I tried to look brave, but it didn't work. "Ok, kind of." He chuckled.

"Come on scaredy cat." He got up and held out a hand to pull me up. I took it. He led me to my bedroom and took a couple of candles with us. My cats hissed and scuttled out of the room. He set the candles on the nightstand and gestured to the bed. I knew what was coming next but I was still nervous.

"I'm not usually this much of a wimp, I swear." He just laughed at me. I settled down on the far end but when he laid down, he motioned for me to move closer. I did and he settled in. The storm sounded less scary now. I must've been really worn out because it wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

_Riiiinng….Riiiinng….Riiinng…_ If that damn phone didn't shut up I was going to break it myself. I tried to reach over to shut it off, but Larten had somehow worked himself right next me and my arm couldn't reach. It kept ringing. It had to wake him up soon.

It seemed too early to get up to go to work. I thought about calling into sick to work, but then there would be no one to cover my shift. I'll be damned if I didn't end up giving that place my soul. I worked myself out of his arms, very unwillingly, and saw Lea calling me at four in the morning. What in hell could she want? She knew I had to get up soon.

I walked out of the room and to the bathroom. "Did somebody die?"

"We thought you did! You weren't answering your phone!"

"I wonder why, it's four in the morning. Decent people are sleeping you know."

"You get mean when you're tired Em."

"Look, my power is out and I didn't have the best night."

"Aww, did you and your boyfriend have a fight last night?" she asked in a simpering voice.

"He's not my boyfriend. What did you want?"

"Yup you guys definitely must've fought. We just wanted to make sure you were ok. If you want to sleep in, we can pick you up."

"Annie's there?"

"Yeah she came over last night talking about the crazy man."

"Yeah she called me about it. She was drunker than a skunk. It would be nice to sleep in."

"Alright. Later Em." Damn. Annie didn't keep her mouth shut. Oh well, I'd sort out that problem later. Right now, all I wanted to do was crawl back into Larten's arms and go back to sleep. And that's exactly what I did. Either he was still asleep, or he didn't want to open his eyes as I crawled back in bed. Part of my head started buzzing about how this wasn't exactly proper for someone who was just a friend, but I was too tired to care. Deal with it later. I tucked myself back into his arms and fell back asleep.

* * *

Larten was awake when her phone started ringing the first time. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, he wanted to sleep, but the walls were thin in this house. Even though she was gone for a few minutes, he missed her warmth and the feel of her tininess next to him. She was so fragile and small; he was worried that she would crack just from looking at her too long. She was taking it surprising well that Murlough had been after her last night, but she did not really have an option.

He didn't open his eyes when she came back to bed. He felt her crawl back underneath his arms and he had to fight back a smile. She was quite the cuddler. No sooner had she fallen asleep than she started tossing and turning, slowly getting closer to him. He had eventually pulled her in closer and let her tangle them all up. He didn't mind. He knew it wasn't right. He shouldn't have been there but he was. And he liked it. He knew they were moving too fast and he had no idea where this might go, but he like what was happening.

Earlier she had called him her friend. He was worried that she was getting too attached. What would happen if Murlough decided to leave her alone? Would she ever really be safe? Was she too far in his world to ever go back? He knew she would miss him terribly if he left. Did she have feelings for him that went beyond friendship? He wasn't sure where his feelings started and ended.

He couldn't help but think off all the ways this was not right. He definitely should not have made contact with her, much less be holding her this close. He should not have fed from her. He should not have practically moved in and brought his assistant and his troubles to her life. He should have left and never returned and only watched from a distance. However, the thought of never answering one of her questions or seeing her smile or holding her close upset him. He was getting in too deep and he knew there was no way out now. The only thing he could do was let it play out and let destiny take its course.

* * *

Naturally, I overslept and was almost late. I tried not to wake up the boys, but I'm not sure how well I succeeded. I rushed out the door without leaving a note for Larten. He would be alright wouldn't he? He was just going to sleep right? I really needed to ask what he did while I was gone.

Of course, when I hoped in Lea's car, they jumped on me.

"I could've swore that guy said his name was Larten," Annie started without preamble.

"Well hello to you too."

"Em, come on. You're avoiding us and it's really scary."

"Ok, seriously, would I let him back in?" I was met with silence. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, I can take of myself and I do have sense. Would I let a maniac into my house?"

"Not willingly. Does he have anything over you?"

"What happened to teasing me about him having a cute butt? I liked that better than all this worrying over nothing."

"Don't say something you might regret later Em," Lea warned me.

"So you're positive this Larten isn't a creep?" Annie leaned from the back seat to meet my eyes.

"Yes." It wasn't Larten, but Murlough that was the creep. Not that I was going to tell them about him.

"So what did you two fight about last night?" Lea asked.

"I told you, we weren't fighting. And he's not my boyfriend."

"She didn't say anything about that! You brought it up!" I smiled and shook my head.

The day didn't fly by like I had hoped. I kept thinking about Larten. How old was he? Was he sleeping right now? Where did he find Madam Octa? I needed to keep a list of all my questions so I didn't forget them.

I thought about last night. He was so hot and cold, first holding me for over an hour and then seemingly not wanting to touch me. Was it something I had done? Was there anything I could do to make him more comfortable? He seemed fine when we had feet between us and tossing questions back and forth. When things got personal, he seemed more distant. Did he think I was trying to pursue a relationship? Was that what he wanted, or did he just want to keep things professional (a little too late, if you asked me)? Would I be ok with taking a step back or going forward? How long was he going to stick around? Would Murlough ever leave me alone? If he did, would Larten disappear from my life as suddenly as he appeared. I really didn't want that.

Should I talk to him about it or keep quiet until I figured out what I wanted? Too many questions for right now. It seemed like the only thing to do was wait and see how it played out. It felt like things were in motion that couldn't be stopped, no matter how hard anyone tried. At least, that's what I told myself as the afternoon dragged on and I waited to get back to him.

* * *

Sorry to disappoint you Greenwood, but things aren't going to get too intimate just yet! :p Thanks for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

I came home that night to the smell of steak and asparagus and garlic. It smelled so heavenly after the three-day-old pizza I had for lunch. I threw my workstuff in a pile by the door-I'd deal with it tomorrow. I followed the smell to my kitchen, where I found Darren sitting on a stool and Larten stirring something on the stove. Darren was chatting away about Gavner while Larten listened. I tied up my hair and went to help him.

He whipped a wooden spoon out of the pot and pointed it at me. I held up my hands in self-defense. He wouldn't really attack me with a spoon, would he?

"Go sit. I know your cooking skills." I just smiled and gave in, shaking my head. He never failed to amaze me.

"So how was work?" Darren asked.

I flopped on the counter dramatically. "Awful. The girls wouldn't leave me alone."

"Still teasing you about your butler with the cute butt?" Larten offered from the stove. Bastard.

"Whoa what did I miss?" Darren looked back and forth between us with a glint in his eyes.

I shook my head. "Nothing. When I had Larten house sit, the girls thought he was a butler. They were drunk." Darren started laughing. Boys.

Larten served us supper in the kitchen and we chitchatted. It was nice. I liked my alone time, but I spent too much of my time alone. It was nice to come home to supper with people I liked and talk about our days and just eat. We needed to make this a habit. And maybe make a habit of Larten cooking.

The boys had gone to see Gavner. They told me one of these days he was going to come over to say hello and meet Larten's 'lady friend.' I swear people just said stuff like that to see me turn red. Maybe I'd just paint my face and be done with it.

We finished supper and stacked our dishes in the sink. I started drawing up the water when Larten shut it off. "Darren can do that later." I peeked at Darren and he didn't seem to happy about that. I wasn't going to protest though. "You are kind enough to share your house and food, the least we can do is help with the housework."

"I thought housework was for women though?" Larten just laughed. We meandered to the living room. I turned on the tv to find another Harry Potter marathon again on ABC. I snuggled into the couch and turned on the subtitles (call me a nerd but I like to read my movies). Larten sat beside me and Darren stretched out on the other couch.

"Why do you have to put those words on the screen? They distract from the already distracting… is it moodie?" Larten whispered.

I giggled. "Movie. It helps me understand what they're saying when things get loud. When I can actually read what they're saying it helps get me into it."

"Might help if I could read," I thought I heard him mutter. It took me a few seconds for what he said to register.

"Wait a minute, did you just say you can't read?" I asked at normal volume. Darren looked back at us.

"Shh, you interrupted the movie," he whispered without taking his eyes off the tv.

"You're avoiding me again."

"Shhhh."

"Larten, don't make me-"

He cut my off a put his finger on my mouth. He looked me straight in the eyes and hypnotized me again. Even though I wasn't standing, my knees felt weak. "Shh."

It worked. I stayed silent for the rest of the movie. I guess in a way I had my answer. Would he really have made such a big deal about it if he could read? I didn't think so. How had he never learned to read? I didn't know a lot about his past – I barely knew any – but surely, he had to learn how to read at some point, right? Maybe not. Maybe he had spent most of his vampire life on the road, living in caves, performing in the Cirque du Freak the two of them talked about sometimes.

Well, he was about to learn.

When the credits went to commercial, I went to the library. I didn't say anything to him, but I knew he'd follow. Sure enough, when I pulled out a clean sheet of paper on the desk, he walked in. My cats hissed and scattered. I patted the desk chair and stood off to the side. He sent a puzzled look my way. I nodded to the chair. He sat down and looked at me like I was going to spring a trap on him. I held a pen out to him.

"What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Turn it in to chopped liver, what do you normally do with pens?! I expect you to write with it."

He licked his lips and looked at the paper before looking back at me. "I can't write."

"I know. I intend to fix that." He looked at the paper again and smiled at me.

* * *

That was how most of our nights went. I would come home from work, complain and whine for a bit while the boys listened. Larten would cook, sometimes showing us things, or on a rare night I would grab us a pizza. We ate together at the table and talked. Darren would the dishes and watch tv or whatever he did while Larten and I would go to the library. We would work on 'his letters' as he called them and then go watch tv with the subtitles on. I could tell he was just humoring me, but I think he secretly enjoyed it. We had fallen into a weird cycle, I would stay up way later than I was used to and he would wake up much earlier 'than any decent vampire should.' Neither of us got a lot of sleep, but I didn't mind.

Lea and Annie let the 'crazy man' issue drop and returned to teasing me about Larten and Howard. Every once in a while, they'd want to spend time at my house but I made up some excuse. They gave up trying to meet Larten without too much of a fight. That should have worried me but I just counted my blessings. I had to go out with them most weekends, but the boys had vampire stuff to do so it worked out well.

It had been several months since the boys had moved in with me and spring was fading into a scorching summer. Even though Larten had his own bedroom, complete with pine coffin, he still slept with me every night. I suspected he crawled to his coffin after I left for work. Still, he slept on the left side of my bed and I was on the right but somehow we always ended up tangled in the morning. I was still sort of nervous (I was sharing a bed with a man!) but it was comforting. He was a big, protective teddy bear that liked to cuddle and snore sometimes.

Other than sharing a bed, and some flirtatious comments, we were still at a frustrated tender point in our…relationship? Whatever it was we had. At least from my point of view. As the weeks flew by, I couldn't deny myself.

I was kind of attracted to Larten.

I would never tell him of course. Our friendship was too new and raw, and with sharing a home, bed, lifestyle it wasn't right. He was just there to protect me, right? Guess my heart forgot about that little fact. And it kind of forgot about us being different species. Him being a vampire didn't scare me, or that I would volunteer my arm whenever he looked peakish. I kind of liked it.

So there we were, middle of June, with another Harry Potter marathon on tv. I kept the subtitles on, but Larten had already moved on to Shakespeare and Dickenson. What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't show him the classics? I was dozing off on his chest-okay I guess I fell asleep- and ended up with my head in his lap. It happened quite a bit (we were pretty cool with sleeping on each other) so Larten didn't move me. I could feel him stir and sort of woke up to see lights shining dimly through the curtains. I didn't think anything about it.

Carly Rae Jepsens' I Really Like You suddenly started drifting through my head. I guess I started singing it, maybe mumbling, because I could see Larten stare at me like I was a lunatic about to explode. The look on his face woke me up a little more. I could still hear the song playing but something about it seemed off, like it was muffled. Larten tensed up and started shaking me.

I finally got it. Those lights were car headlights and that song was playing out of a car stereo, one I knew very well. I tried to push myself off of Larten's lap but my arms were so asleep I just kept falling. He didn't seem to understand my urgency. There were footsteps on the porch and my front door flew open.

* * *

I am so sorry. I left you guys waiting for months and now I leave you with this. Thank you everyone who has read and especially those who have reviewed! Even more thanks to those who can forgive me for the long hiatus!


	14. Chapter 14

"Em! We found your favorite son-" The rest of Annie's sentence was cut off when she saw both of us tangled on the couch.

"_What the hell is he doing here_?" Annie screeched, dropping the pot she was holding. Lea pushed her out of the way to see what all the commotion was about. Her mouth dropped and she stared. I jumped away from Larten like I had been electrocuted and landed on the floor. Larten turned to face the girls and looked at me, fear in his eyes.

Annie was far from frozen though. "What are you doing? Get out!" She started towards Larten, brandishing towards the door. He backed into the table and almost fell over it. If I hadn't been so scared stiff, I would've laughed at this fierce vampire scared of a 5'4" girl. He looked at me and made a choking noise.

"Em what the hell is going on?" Darren had started to wander down the stairs, only to stop, wide eyed at the sight of my friends.

"_Two_? You've been shacking up with two guys, Em? What is the matter with you?" Lea asked, rushing over to me. Annie changed her mind about going after Larten and rushed at me.

"_What the hell is going on here Emmaline_?" she whispered at me.

"Ummm, I can explain." Shit how was I going to explain? "Ummm…"

"Cause it kinda looks like you've been living with the crazy man! It was Larten all along wasn't it? Why? What does he have on you? What is wrong with you? You could've told us!" She rounded on Larten, who leaped back. "And you! Get out! I'm calling the police!" She dug in her pocket for her phone.

"Annie, just calm down a second. No one's gonna call the police." I put my hand on her arm. She whirled around on me.

"And why the hell not? He's fucking crazy Em! He's in your house and he isn't getting out!"

"I will, just, ah-" Larten motioned to the door.

"No!" Larten caught my gaze. "No, he's not going anywhere." With a deep breath, I stuck myself between Annie and Larten.

Lea's eyes got wide again but Annie's narrowed. "What?" She whispered.

Annie was getting dangerous. I gulped. "I said, he's not going anywhere."

Annie straightened up and folded her arms. "Why did you lie to us Em?"

"I-" I didn't have a good answer for this. "I didn't want you to freak out."

"Freak out?" Lea laughed. "Kinda bit past that, don't you think? Why didn't you trust us? We can get you out of this!"

"You guys act like I want out!" I busted out. Crap.

"Is this like Stockholm Syndrome? What the hell is the matter with you?" Annie shouted.

"Nothing!" I shouted back. This was getting out of hand way too quick. I started pacing. Larten and Darren seemed frozen to the spot.

"Come on." Annie grabbed my arm and yanked hard. "If he won't leave, you will."

"Annie, knock it off! No one is going anywhere!"

"Are you choosing this psycho over your best friends?" Lea asked.

"No! I'm not choosing anyone over anything! And he's not a psycho!"

"He shows up at your house covered in fake blood and you look like death! Then, come to find out, he's here, with you on the couch! Oh my god, he was your house sitter, wasn't he? Wasn't he? He's been here all these months, hasn't he? Oh my god, Em what did you get yourself into? You've fallen in love with him haven't you? Some sort of sick, twisted sort of- _Were you two having sex when we walked in_?" Annie exploded.

My cheeks turned blood red. "No! Hell no! I was sleeping! It wasn't, it's not like that!" I sputtered.

Annie started turning and pacing. "Ummm, I'm just gonna leave now," Darren whispered and turned to go back up the stairs. Annie stared at him.

"And just who the hell are you? Is that his son? What the fuck is going on here Em? What are they?"

"Annie!" I shouted. I got her attention. "Knock it off. Now."

"No! Not til you tell them to leave and tell us what's going on! What are they? Rapists? Murders? Sickos?"

Now I was getting mad. "Be careful Annabelle. Those are my friends you're talking about," I said in a low voice. I couldn't look at her.

"Friends?" she shrieked.

Lea scoffed. "Some friends. What the hell are we then?"

"Yes! They're my friends!" I looked up at both of them. "Why the hell do you feel the need to categorize everything? Why can't they just be? Nothing is going on here, that's what! Why do I have to sort everything into neat little boxes? I am an adult and it's up to me who is in my house! You want me to tell you who they are? Fine! They're not pyschos or sickos or _rapists_ or _murderers_!" I spat the words at them. "They are my friends! They have saved me! They live here and will not be leaving just because you don't like them! You don't even know them! Now knock it the fuck off!" Annie and Lea looked shocked. I'm sure if I turned around, the boys would've too. I couldn't look at anyone right now. I started pacing.

My doorbell rang. No one ever rings my doorbell, especially at night. I couldn't have cared less at the moment. "Go the fuck away!" I shouted towards the door. Whoever it was rang again.

Oh. They asked for it. I stomped towards the door, rolling up my sleeves, ready to give this person holy hell. I flung open the door and stopped dead.

I knew instantly who it was. It was only a couple of milliseconds but everything happened so fast. Murlough was standing on my front porch, all purple skin and razor sharp teeth turned into a malicious grin. I screamed and tried to slam the door back shut. His arm lifted and busted the door clean off the hinges. I started to fall backwards and then I was thudding into the back of the couch. A blur of red and black and my porch was empty.

Vicious animal sounds echoed around yard, loud and fierce. Adrenaline forced its way through me. I looked back at the girls.

"Upstairs! Now!" I shouted. They flinched and screamed but started tripping over themselves to get up the stairs. I followed behind.

A flash of red caught my vision and Larten was on top of the now broken tv, groaning. I stopped dead. The girls stumbled, but watched the scene. Murlough walked calmly through the door. He was covered in scratches and his clothes were torn. Rotting flesh almost made me throw up. He looked up at me and smiled before looking back at Larten. He was going to kill him and then me.

I looked back at my friends, white and petrified. I gave Lea a shove and that broke them out of their trance. They thundered up the stairs. "Go to my room and lock the door!" I knew it wouldn't save them, but it would buy them some time. I didn't look back as my craziness took over. Halfway up the staircase, I jumped over the banister and back into the living room. I landed on my right ankle awkward and I fell to my knees. I could hear Murlough laughing and Larten groaning, trying to tell me to leave.

Hearing his pain-ridden voice gave me determination. I shot back up and grabbed a fireplace poker. Letting out a fierce battle cry, I swung as hard as could at Murlough. It hit him in the side of the head, barely moving him. He looked over at, arching an eyebrow.

"Feisty bag of blood, isn't she Crapsley? Is she tasty?" He turned too fast and the poker skidded across the floor. My courage left me and I tried to run. My ankle gave out and I fell to the floor. Murlough laughed.

His laugh was cut short as Larten shot at him and they tumbled outside again. I heard shouting, but it was all too fast and covered in screeches to make out. Darren stumbled in the back door, trying to flit. I tried to get up but I couldn't. He flew past me and up the stairs. He must've been getting Annie and Lea out. Good.

Someone else flew in the back door and looked around. He was taller than Darren, and dressed well, but his eyes were wide and fluorescent colored.

_Gotta stop him_. He was one of Murlough's helpers and I'd be damned if I'd let him hurt anyone. I lurched over to my poker, and charged at him, letting a hoarse shriek fall out. Terror crossed his eyes, and I felt powerful. I couldn't stop Murlough but I could him.

I started swinging. He backed up and tried to stop me. He fell to the floor and started yelling. I started wailing on his legs.

After a few hits, my energy was giving out. "Larten! Larten help me!" the man was howling. It had to be a trap to lure Larten back in to hurt him. I swung the poker up high and went to bash his head in, and the poker was gone.

Murlough was behind me. I turned and started snarling and trying to scratch him. He was covered in red, must be blood, and caught my hands softly, holding me back effortlessly. He leaned in to whisper in my ear. I fought harder.

"Calm down, my fierce little kitten." His voice was velvet and smooth, not choppy like before. I struggled harder and went to snarl to his face. It was too white, he must've lost a lot a blood. But what was that on his head? It was red, and curly…

It was Larten holding me, not Murlough. He was smiling slightly, his face covered in little nicks. His arms were bleeding, but gently restraining me, more to stop me from hurting myself. Realizing it was him, that I was safe, my adrenaline vanished, and I collapsed into him. He caught me easily, his amusement turning to worry.

He picked me up and laid me down on the couch, looking me over. My vision flickered and started to fade. I shut my eyes.

"Oh, I see how it is. She was attacking me but you're only concerned about her," the man complained. I could hear him walking over to us.

"Crybaby," Larten mumbled. I felt Larten's hands ghost over my broken ankle, up my leg, (did he really have to go that far up?), to my sides and arms.

"I heard that."

"Go check on Darren. Watch out for the girls up there too."

"Can't be worse than her. You need to put a leash on her, Larten," the man grumbled.

Larten chuckled. He gently took my head in his hands. "Kitten?" he whispered softly.

I opened my eyes to see his frown slip into a smile. _Why_ _did he call me kitten?_ His smile widened.

"Do you ever stop asking questions?" The smile on his face was beautiful. His eyes never strayed from mine. I could feel my pulse calming as we held still.

_Crash_! I heard Lea scream in terror. _Crash_! Something solid hit the wall. I broke our trance to see the man tumbling down the stairs. Annie was screaming something too shrill to understand.

"Get your womenfolk in line, Larten!" the man shouted at him and ran out the door, covering his head.

Larten threw his head back and laughed. I tried too, but I was too weak. Darren soon followed the man. Annie thundered down the stairs screaming my name, Lea on her heels. I tried to sit up, but Larten pushed my shoulders back down. He backed away and let the girls surround me.

"Now you have no choice Emmaline Hester," Annie started.

"You have to tell us what's going on," Lea finished.

* * *

I'm sorry guys! Made this one extra long! I know it won't make up for the long hiatus (and I can't promise that won't happen again) but I will try my best to make it up to you! Let me know how much you guys hate me, or if I made any mistakes. One last question for you, I toyed with Larten calling her kitten or warrior. What do you guys think?


	15. Chapter 15

Two hours later we were settled in on the couch, the boys at the other end of the room. Larten and I had told the girls as much as we could without pulling them in too far(but they were already in too far). Now they were sipping their liquor quietly. I usually didn't let them drink in my house but I figured they had one hell of a night. Gavner, the poor man I beat up earlier, was trying to fix my door. I had tried to apologize but he just laughed me off.

Annie had determined that I had sprained my ankle. She wrapped it, and gave me a very stern lecture on irresponsible behavior. When she started in on my 'friend' choices, I told her to shut up. For once, she actually listened.

I could hear Gavner grunting behind us. I turned to watch him try to fix the door. He finally gave up and lean what was left of the door against the frame. "If you get a new one, I'll put it on for you," he offered.

"You don't have to, you're not the one that busted it."

"And you beat me up. But I'm feeling generous." Gavner sauntered over to the boys and settled beside Darren, who was terrified of Annie, but trying not show it. Larten looked deep in thought. I could feel myself starting to nod off. I had one hell of a night.

"Em?" Lea was waving a hand in front of my face.

"Hmm?" I looked around and acted like I was awake.

"I think Miss Emmaline should call it a night, as well as you two," Larten suggested.

"I don't think I could drive home after all that," Lea said. Annie nodded.

"I think he meant that you girls sleep here," Gavner clarified.

I could see Annie open her mouth to give him a piece of her mind(like we hadn't heard enough already) and I cut her off. "Murlough knows what you look like now. You guys are gonna have to stay here. It's the safest place for you."

"You call this safe?"

"You guys are fine aren't you? They're the ones who got hurt. Something tells me that the little chain across your door isn't gonna stop him." The boys nodded and the girls leaned back, silent once more.

"Well, when you guys decide which room you want, I'm gonna go to bed." I stood up and pain shot up my leg. I couldn't

* * *

help the whimper that came out and I would've fallen to the floor if Larten hadn't caught me. He helped me wobble up the stairs.

"I would carry you, but I think your spitfire of a friend would not like that," Larten murmured.

A big yawn slowed my response. "I don't care right now. Annie is usually sweet, but right now I'm so pissed at her." Larten helped ease me into bed, but didn't get in.

He bent down, like he was going to kiss me. "I'll come back to check on you later," he whispered. He left.

I huffed and fell back into my pillows. My best friends are pissed at me because I'm living with vampires and I've been lying to them, my other best friend is too scared to sleep with me and is giving me mixed signals, and I've got a sprained ankle. Lovely.

I heard whispers at my door. Annie and Lea were shuffling just around the corner. "I know you guys are there, just come in already," I called out. They walked in and shut the door behind them.

"Em, I'm sorry."

I whipped my head around. Did I hear right? Did Annie just say she was sorry?

"If we had known that you were in danger," Lea started.

"I still wouldve thrown a fit, but I would've understood. You still lied to us, but we understand why. And now we messed everything up. I'm sorry."

"_We're_ sorry."

"It's ok, but I think you scarred Darren for life," I chuckled. I motioned for them to come sit on my bed. "They really are nice guys, Larten is a gentleman."

"He does have a nice butt," Lea mumbled. There was a second of silence before me and Annie burst out laughing. Lea turned red and started laughing at herself too.

"Better watch it girl, he's Em's," Annie warned her, still laughing.

"Honestly guys, he's just a friend," I told them.

"And I'm a stripper. I've seen the way he looks at you," Annie started.

"She's friend zoning him!" Lea shouted. The girls dissolved into giggles again.

I shook my head. "I am not! You guys are unbelievable. You know they can probably hears us, right?" That just made them laugh even harder.

"Larten, Em thinks you have a cute butt!" Annie shouted. I launched myself at her.

"Get out of my room and go to bed," I told them, still laughing. They listened to me, still laughing.

I settled myself down again and waited for Larten. I hadn't slept without him and I really didn't want to. The fight still had me wound up and I was scared I was going to have nightmares. I could hear the girls in the next room over, shuffling and talking. Their voices were muffled and I was too tired to care what they were talking about. Probably thinking of more stuff to tease me about.

I glanced at the clock. 3:28 shone out. It was a good thing it was Saturday and we didn't have to work the next day. My door creaked open and Larten poked his head in.

"Em, are you awake?"

"Unfortunately. Please tell me you didn't hear any of what we said," I begged.

"Every word, Miss Emmaline, every word." That smug bastard. I flopped down in my pillows and groaned. He just laughed.

"Do you need anything before I go?" He asked.

"What? Where are you going?" I shot back up, instantly awake.

"To my coffin. I thought your friend-"

"I don't give a shit about what Annie thinks." I quickly spoke over him. When I realized how desperate I sounded, I blushed and turned the other way. I didn't think I could sleep without him.

The covers were pushed back as he crawled in. I turned to smile at him. "If she finds out, she can eat you alive, not me," he grumbled, settling in.

"Okay," I agreed, happy. I snuggled next to him and he wrapped his arm around me. We normally waited until we fell asleep to get all tangled up, but I didn't care. Let Annie and Lea find out. I didn't care. I did like Larten, and he felt like home and safety. I was warm and happy and soon fell asleep.

* * *

Larten looked down at Em and smiled. He loved that she didn't want to sleep without him. He pulled her a little closer, minding her leg.

His smile disappeared as he thought about the fight. Murlough should not have gotten that close; he should've been paying more attention. He had been too preoccupied with Em, and her friends to notice the smell of rotting corpses. He would not make that same mistake twice.

Another mistake he wouldn't make again was letting Murlough slam him down. He was almost unconscious, and if he wanted, Murlough would have had her. Larten couldn't live with that.

Em sighed in her sleep. She ducked her head further into his chest. Larten smiled and didn't stop the warm feeling spreading through him. He loved when she made little noises like that when she was sleeping.

He made plans with Gavner and Darren to start sparring on a regular basis. He toyed with the idea of letting Em watch. She had shown that she would fight. Barely seeing her jump over the banister and attack Murlough had been a singular experience. He knew her well enough to see the fear in her eyes masked by her ferocity. Part of him would be honored and excited to fight along side her as a vampire. The other part of him never wanted her to see violence again.

Her first thought had been for others, her friends and himself. Even after spraining her ankle, luckily only spraining, she was hellbent on defending. He loved that she was willing to do anything to protect the people she cared about.

Seeing her attack Gavner had been too funny. He almost didn't stop her. He knew Gavner wouldn't be hurt, after she was a human, but his pride would be devastated. Feeling her almost faint wasn't funny. He was scared she had gone too far, pushed herself too hard.

In her sleep, Em grabbed a fistful of Larten's shirt. He almost couldn't handle the adorable gesture. He usually fell asleep soon after her, otherwise he'd spend the whole night watching her sleep. He loved watching her sleep.

Tonight might be a night he wouldn't get any sleep. His mind refused to stop thinking about her, not that he minded.

Listening to her defend him and Darren was something he would never forget. She stood up to her friends for them. He knew how much they meant to her, and how she hated fights. He loved that he meant that much to her.

Larten moved them a little closer to the middle of the bed. If Em had her way, they'd end up on the floor. She was quite the bed hog. He loved how adorable she was when she slept.

His mind finally quieted enough to attempt sleep. He curled himself around her a little more and shut his eyes. Sleep had come easily, but so did the nightmares.

He could hear her calling out for him. She sounded so weak and terrified it made his blood turn cold. No matter where he looked, how load he shouted her name, he couldn't find her. Frantically searching everywhere in the dream world found him nothing but panic and despair. He could her voice softening, until it was finally gone.

He awoke with a start, almost waking Em too. Larten ran his hand over her hair. He knew she loved that and it usually put her straight to sleep. She nuzzled closer and he held her there while his heartbeat quieted. He knew he was way too far in over his head, but it had long ceased to matter. He needed his kitten, and she need him. That was all that mattered.


End file.
